Coventry Carol

Not all Christmas tunes are about peace on earth, goodwill toward men. This song, Coventry Carol, is a lament over the "massacre of the innocents." In the New Testament, children of Bethlehem “from two years old and under,” were killed by the order of King Herod in an attempt to destroy the infant Jesus. The Innocents have been considered martyrs since ancient times. In the Eastern Church they are known as the Holy Children. Their feast, formerly known in England as Childermas, is Dec. 28.

This jazz arrangement may strike some as odd, but we consider this piece a jazz lament. Included on the Noel project holiday CD, "Splendor Bright."

delightfully somber
Wonderful singing Myst, unique jazzy piano interlude (Tom-arranged?),
pretty horns, fun drums/bells, and fabulous guitar playing. I would
have liked to hear the guitar sound EQed with a little more treble/bass,
it sounded slightly heavy in the midrange. Overall, this is a great
arrangement! Are you really going to do more stuff of this caliber, so
sweetly tinged with winter soulfulness? Are you taking requests
(smirk)? If this is a taste of the upcoming CD, I think you will have a hit
on your hands! Especially if you publish the research for each song as
above, that kind of information always interests me!
ttfn,
Drakonis

delightfully somber
Thanks Eduard. We do intend to release many more songs (hopefully of this
caliber). The plan is to put 12-15 on the CD, titled "The Noel Project," which
should be finished by December 1. Many of the songs are already 'in the can,'
some by other MacJam artists (Curry, rebsie, mandolinquent). We hought it
would be best to release them over the next month or so, instead of dumping
them all at once in December.

delightfully somber
Why, the hauntingly beautiful ancient Ukranian Carol of the Bells, of course :-)
I even have a version here at MacJams that I made as a Christmas/Yule gift to
my wife (Belle Fugue, "http://www.macjams.com/song/4978") It would be
wonderful if you have that song up your
sleeve.
ttfn,
Drakonis

Cool!
Its really great the way this turns from traditional carol into a cool jazz
number and then back. The instrumentation is all excellent...great
production. Mysti's vocals are exceptional as ever.
Look forward to hearing more from the Noel Project
Steve

Cool!
Thanks Steve. At first we were concerned about mixing genres (classical &
jazz) within the same Christmas carol, but decided to do it anyway, even
though, as mandolinquent put it, we risked 'jazzing up infanticide.'

very impressive
It's nice to hear a different kind of Christmas music...especially
music as wonderful and well produced as this! The story behind
the music is quite interesting. Are you guys going to actually sell
this CD when it is done? I hope you do...

stunning
Wow, This is beautiful! How I enjoy hearing the whole picture. Your voice
is wonderful and sweet. The way in beautiful jazz piece comes and goes
in the middle is really well done... and this is truely a Childermas
Masterpiece!!!! Thankyou for sharing this!

There is a dream though it is sad.
The biggest reward for us is being named the official Tadashi translators for
MacJams. We will freely interpret your verse so that others here may share in
your enlightenment and funkiness.

Dig ther Noel cats... man...
What a cool treatment... It all has a very dig-able vibe. Finally some
Christmas music that I want to listen to, and will this season.
Myst, your voice is just perfect. Singing in your upper register really
shows the wonderful purity of your voice.
Love this piece!

Dig ther Noel cats... man...
Thanks Mr Spike. We are glad you dig this - and agree with your comments
about Mysti's voice. The project considers itself lucky to have bribed her...or
rather persuaded her to join in.

The Noel Project is a collaboration among several artists at MacJams. The idea for a Christmas CD sprang from Mystified and Tom Atwood, who are producing the Noel Project's first CD, "Splendor Bright." Artists featured on "Splendor Bright" include Jo... [see more]